WHEN PEOPLE BECOME dependent on chemicals, the harm that the chemicals do is not limited to the user. Because chemical dependency impairs a person's judgment and changes his or her behavior, it negatively impacts the user's family and friends and causes problems for society.

Effects on families and friends

When people become dependent upon chemicals their lives are driven by their need for the chemical. This changes their personalities, making them increasingly self-centered since their main interest in life becomes getting high. As a result, they often avoid old friends who do not abuse chemicals and replace them with new friends who share their main interest—drug abuse. It also causes them to ignore family commitments if these commitments interfere with getting high. A man who missed his brother's wedding because of his cocaine dependency recalls his...